Shadows of Youth: Extended
by Castformrain
Summary: Ever wondered what happened after the episode "Shadows of Youth"? This is the sequel to that story. The main characters are Lance and Ilana, but no, this is not a mushy love story. [ABANDONED...Unless Symbionic Titan starts back up again. Then I might have the urge to continue.]
1. Chapter 1

Young Ilana gazed out of her window, watching the hovercrafts of the kingdom soar by. It was a beautiful sight: the sunset shining over the hills, and thousands of people all doing their part in the Galalunian circle of life.

Ilana turned around and smiled at her father, the king. "It is a wonderful view, but every morning I must wake up and see the military academy through my window," she said to him. The Galalunian Military Academy, known as GMA for short, was the place where young warriors trained, hopefully to become members of the Elite, or even part of the Royal Guard. Although it sounded like an honor, the Academy itself was a miserable place, at least from what Ilana could tell by looking through her window at its dreary walls.

"What ever happened to that boy who was going to receive the Medal of Honor last week? You know… Mr. Lunis's son?" Ilana asked her father, folding her hands on front of her and crossing her legs on the bed. "His name was Lance," she recalled.

"Lance was sent to jail because of an incident with the Manus armor," the King said, sitting down next to Ilana and putting an arm around her.

Ilana's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "That's terrible!" she exclaimed. "Why, he's only a boy! The same age as me!"

"Do not worry, my little princess," the King said, smiling at Ilana's reaction. She was always concerned about morals and right and wrong. She definitely took after her mother, the Queen. "Lance is no longer in jail, and he is safe back at the Academy. However, it may take a long time for the teachers there to acknowledge his repent and offer him the Medal of Honor again."

There was a silence where Ilana looked out the window at the Military Academy again. She frowned, and turned back to her father.

"I want to visit him," Ilana said simply.

* * *

"Arthur, wait up!" young Lance called to his pudgy, freckled friend. Ever since Lance had used the Manus armor without permission, Arthur had been trying to stay away from him, as if just being around him would cause bad luck.

"Stay away from me!" Arthur mumbled, his eyes shimmering with fear. He hurried over to another table and sat down, poking his spaghetti.

Lance's face drooped, and he sat down at a different table. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Baron, his cruel rival. Ever since the Manus incident, Baron and Lance had been warned to stay well away from each other, and both of them knew that they would be punished if anybody saw them even talking to each other. Lance frowned and stabbed his spaghetti. So what if he'd been in the Academy for over a year now, he still hated it. _Well, not exactly __**everything**_, Lance thought to himself. He enjoyed the lessons: battling was a hidden talent of his that he would have never discovered if he hadn't come here in the first place. If his dad hadn't died.

Lance shoveled down his food and stalked off to his room, lying down on the bed and letting out a huge sigh. He had accepted the fact by now that his father wasn't coming back. Who knows where the prototype rift gate had sent him: at any rate, his chances of returning seemed impossibly slim.

Lance pulled out a staff from his dresser and held it out in front of him, gripping it tightly with two hands. Nothing better to take his mind off of the past than a little bit of battle training. Lance had only begun to twirl the staff when he heard a knocking at his door.

Lance set the bottom of the staff to the floor and looked up. "Come in," he said, not taking his hand off of the staff. If this was Baron trying to attack him again, Lance would be ready for it.

To his surprise, it was not Baron who opened the door: it was the King of Galaluna himself.

Lance's eyes widened and he kneeled, laying the staff down in front of him. "Your Majesty," he said reverently.

"Rise, young child," the King said, satisfied to see that Lance had finally acquired some respect for royalty. "My daughter asked to see you," he told Lance, stepping aside to reveal Ilana, who had been peeking out from behind him.

Ilana smiled shyly and nodded at Lance. "Salutations," she said, stepping up to him. "I've heard a lot about you recently."

Lance's face went red, and he averted his eyes from her face. Now even the princess knew about how he had been sent to jail. _She probably hates me!_ Lance thought to himself, and he turned away from her.

Ilana suddenly realized her mistake, and ran up to Lance. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to insult you!" she said to him.

"No, it's okay," Lance said.

There was a silence as they both looked away from each other, not wanting to be the first one to start a conversation. Ilana was struggling to remember why she had even wanted to see Lance in the first place. She had convinced herself that it was because she wanted to provide him with sympathy, but she felt like sympathy wasn't going to do much for him.

"Lance, maybe you can show Ilana some of the facilities here," the King suggested walking up and placing a hand on the young boy's shoulder. "Yes, sir," Lance said. "Come on, Ilana, I can show you the Anti-Gravity station," he said, holding out his hand to her.

Ilana smiled, took his hand, and then together they walked out of Lance's room and into the hall.

The King smiled, and then looked around Lance's room. Kneeling down and examining Lance's bedside table, he pulled out the bottom drawer, taking out a picture of Lance's father.

"Edward," the King said, sighing.

* * *

"Betcha can't catch me!" Ilana giggled, soaring through the air in the Anti-Gravity Station.

Ilana kicked off and twirled with ease, clearly enjoying herself. It was obvious to Lance that she was a natural. But not better than him, of course. Lance couldn't believe that he was actually here, with the princess. He'd only seen her a few times before, and had always though of her as snooty and stuck-up, a stereotypical royal brat. But Ilana wasn't like those stereotypical princesses. Not at all.

"Oh yeah?" Lance asked. He shot up and tackled Ilana in mid-air sending them both spinning and laughing through the air.

But suddenly Ilana's joyful expression disappeared. Lance followed Ilana's gaze, turning around to see…

"Baron," Lance muttered through gritted teeth. _Why does he always have to be here to spoil the day?_ Lance wondered to himself.

"Hello, _Lance,_" Baron said, spitting out Lance's name with contempt.

"Where are your cronies?" Lance asked, pushing Ilana behind him and floating up into the air so that he could look down on Baron.

Baron smirked, as if it didn't bother him one bit that his usual thugs weren't accompanying him today. He and Lance both knew that Baron was better at handling Anti-Gravity.

"Stop!" Ilana said, floating up in front of Lance and folding her arms confidently. "You will not hurt Lance. That's a Royal Command."

Baron's face went pale at the sight of the princess, and he lowered his head respectfully.

"Princess, I had no idea that it was you behind Lance, I assumed it was some other student. Why, if I'd known you were here-" Baron said, his voice switching seamlessly from arrogant bully to angelic child.

"Whether or not you knew I was here doesn't matter. As an aspiring member of the Elite, you should know better," Ilana reprimanded Baron.

"Yes, princess," Baron muttered, and with that, he turned and floated out of the Anti-Gravity Station.

"Thanks for helping me," Lance said, ashamed to admit that he'd needed help from the princess. It was supposed to be the other way around! _He_ was supposed to assist _her_!

"Don't mention it," Ilana said, letting go of Lance's hand. "Well, I guess I'd better get back to my father now," she said, "or else he might order a search party for me." Ilana smiled at the thought, then, with a wave of her hand, she floated down and out of the Anti-Gravity Station.

Lance floated alone in the middle of the room, staring at the door where Ilana had left.

"We'll meet again," he whispered, as if speaking to Ilana. "And when we do, I'll get a chance to save you, not the other way around."

* * *

**So, that's it: my first fanfic here. _Please give me constructive criticism_, I'm here to improve my writing skills by getting reviews from other writers. Of course, compliments are always accepted as well ;-).**

**Chapter 2 will contain more action, so be prepared!**


	2. Chapter 2

"The eight of you are the best of your level," the instructor drawled, slowly pacing along the line of students before her. She was tall and svelte, with a long, vertical nose that stretched down to her mouth, and high cheekbones, resembling an underfed heron with a bent beak.

She, Lance, Baron, and six other students were standing alone in the midst of the vast desert known as the Training Field that stretched for nearly six miles behind the academy. The Training Field was often used when large space was needed, or when there was a risk of property being damaged if the activity in question took place in the Academy itself. In this case, it was the latter.

"You have all been at the Academy some time now, some longer than others, and now you come to one of the peaks of your warrior education. Use of the Manus Armor."

Lance's expression remained stoic and serious as always, but his heart was leaping out of his chest with joy. Finally, he was going to get to actually use the Manus Armor with permission. And once he had mastered the armor, he would become an Elite. The youngest Elite ever, Lance corrected. His father would have been proud.

"Now, for _most_ of you, this will be your first time using the Manus Armor," the instructor continued, casting a disapproving glare at Baron and Lance. It was obvious that if she had gotten her way, they wouldn't even have been in this class in the first place. "Because you are all relatively new to the Manus Armor, what you see lined up before you are merely training armors. With this remote I can take control of the armor if I notice that the armor is in danger, or if students are being irresponsible with it."

The instructor pulled out a wide, blue remote to show the students. Lance could have sworn that he'd seen a disappointed frown flicker onto Baron's face for a fraction of a second, but as soon as it had appeared, it was gone.

"Now, get into your armor," the instructor commanded.

Lance and the others leapt into their Manus Armor with ease, and he immediately felt right at home at the controls. It was almost exactly how he had remembered it, although a few minor improvements had been made within the last five months. However, it still had the same feel to it. Lance had ridden hovercrafts and escape pods, but nothing compared to the Manus Armor. It was as if you were the armor, moving as it did.

Controlling the Manus armor had come naturally to Baron and Lance five months ago, and even now, it was no different. They strutted around easily while the other students staggered and wobbled on their Manus legs.

Even though she didn't want to admit it, the instructor knew that Lance and Baron would learn nothing new about the Manus armor in the beginner's class.

"Baron, Lance," she said, still glaring at them with disdain. "I'm sending you over to the Intermediate Class on the other side of the Training Field. I'm also removing the training applications from your Manus Armor, so that I will have no control over the armor anymore. But if either of you-"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure Lance doesn't get into any trouble," Baron assured pleasantly, then he flew off over to the other side of the Training Field.

His anger sparked, Lance dashed after Baron. That little… no. He was not going to start any sort of conflict with Baron, be it verbal or physical. Instead, Lance calmed down, and focused once again on his dream to becoming an Elite. By being bumped up to Intermediate, it had just gotten that much, closer, and the quicker he got to class, the quicker he was to reaching his goal.

So Lance sped up a bit, fully igniting the flame in his Manus boots and accelerating to an even faster speed. But suddenly, Baron was pulling ahead of him, and before Lance could do anything, Baron had whipped out the Manus sword and smote him in the chest. Lance fell to the sound of Baron's snickering.

"No princess around to save you know, is there?" Baron asked innocently, touching down next to Lance and kicking his face into the dirt. But as Baron turned around to make off, Lance reached out and grabbed his leg, pulling him back down to the ground.

"I don't need a princess to stand up to you," Lance replied, and his Manus Armor creaked a bit as he stood up and looked Baron in the eyes.

"Oh yeah?" Baron asked. He was trying to sound tough and unintimidated, but Lance could tell from the crack in his voice that a part of him was afraid. Without any more words, he whipped out the Manus sword again and slashed at Lance, who was able to leap out of the way this time. A bar of battle equipment options laid itself out in front of Lance's vision, and he quickly selected the sword and shield. Lance stabbed, only to have his attack parried and to be given a slice from Baron's sword as a reply. Lance blocked the slice with his shield, but what he hadn't noticed was that Baron had given himself two swords. The second sword swiped at Lance's Manus legs, and nearly tripped him.

Lance hit the dirt once again, and he flared up with anger. Wasting no time to fire a threat at Baron, he switched out the shield for a second sword, and lunged at Baron, who parried and replied his a slice at his head. Lance ducked at slashed at Baron's stomach. The flat side of his sword connected solidly with Baron's waist, and his opponent was sent staggering off balance.

Lance took off, shooting up and up into the clouds. Another fight with Baron could mean expulsion. Permanently. He couldn't let that happen.

Why does Baron hate me? Lance wondered to himself exasperatedly. What does he have against me? What reason does he have to hate a kid who's years younger than him?

But before Lance could be given time to contemplate this question, Baron broke through the clouds and appeared before him.

"Thought you could escape me that easily?" Baron taunted, and he held up his hand. He had taken out the Manus machine gun. "Let's finish this."

Volleys of bullets fired from the gun, and Lance was barely able to duck them. Another bar of weaponry options popped up in front of Lance's vision, as if taunting him to use a machine gun against Baron as well. But Lance restrained himself. A battle with two machine guns could only get both of them killed.

Baron fired again, and the hatred and anger bubbled up inside of Lance again. That was it. Lance was just about to select the gun option when Baron switched out his gun for something else. A mini-missile launcher

Idiot! Lance shouted to Baron in his head. Baron didn't even know how to use the missile launcher: he end up getting both of them killed. But before he could warn Baron, a missile had already exploded from the barrel, and was hurtling at Lance at top speed. Lance dodged, but the missile swerved around to stay on track. He kept swerving and It was gaining on him: there was no way he could keep this up.

"Not so tough now, are you, _Lance?_" Baron spat, and he started to fly away, laughing maliciously.

But Lance wasn't done with him.

Lance turned around and accelerated towards Baron, zooming closer and closer as the missile tailed him, then at the last second, he swerved out of the way. Baron turned around just in time, and in the shock of the moment he fired another missile at it in self defense.

There was a huge explosion that ripped apart the cloud, and the force sent Lance and Baron both spiraling towards the ground. Lance tried to regain control, but it was too late. He was already slipping out of consciousness. Falling…. falling….


End file.
